But FirstEnergyestimates their ratepayers would only see their electric bills go up a few dollars a month for a year or two because as natural gas prices rise, coal will be able to compete. IEEFA’s David Schlissel disagrees.

“Those are all fantasy. There’s no evidence that gas prices are going to rise dramatically over the long-term as FirstEnergy appears to say.”

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Hearings have ended and now it’s up to state regulators to decide if the so-called coal plant bailout for two electric utilities should be approved. Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports.

FirstEnergy and AEP say adding a charge to customers’ monthly bills in order to guarantee income for struggling coal plants will stabilize costs and ensure grid stability. Opponents say this is an unnecessary bailout that helps ineffective and dirty coal plants.

An environmental group and a major utility have reached an agreement that could change the future landscape of energy generation for that company. But as Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports, others aren’t so sure about that.